So, to make a long story short: I fell in love with a 48 Chevy located in the LA area. I can´t go there in person at the moment cause we are loaded with work in my shop . I worked out the shipping methods with a shipper I trust, but what is a good way to pay for a car overseas? I want the seller to get his money safely and without any hooks, but I also woul´dn´t like to find myself without my money and with out a car at th end of the day I see this is done all the time, but how do you pay, in a safe way? Time is not an issue to me, if that matters.. Thanks for all the input!! Chris
Sorry, but what´s an Escrow account? Can I open an account in the USA without being phYsically there? I´m over here in Germany, Munich area right now. I know it´s been done before, there must be a good way to do it. I´ve heard of money wire transfer, cashiers check, I´d also send the money cash in an envelope if I knew it´d be safe and not lost on the way...
an escrow account is an account held by a middle person, say a lawyer, who holds the money until the recieving party is happy he has his goods then the person selling the goods gets paid. a good way of sending money is to wire it to the person - wont get lost as long as you have the correct details and it will get there in a day or so.
I have bought cars that I havent seen in person and have sold a couple to overseas buyers. The number one rule is pay quickly and get the car out of there. Its a gamble, but wire transfer is the best way... it is quick and you can confirm when it clears. Checks & Money orders can take up to 15+ days to clear, so they are no good. Also, there are tons of hambers in the LA area. I am sure you can find one with a good reputation & long hamb history who will hold onto your car until you are ready to ship. Safer than an unknown seller.... Always makes me nervous to pay for a car and have the seller hold onto it for a lenght of time. Hyfire
Hyfire is correct, there are quite a few LA folks here, i have helped people in the past, give a hollar if you need assistance. also i live in Long Beach... within 10-15min of shipping companies. good luck!
Wire transfer. My dad sold a 69' 912 back t germany a few years ago and that's how he did it. Had no problems.
I have always wondered how you would go about selling a car overseas. I know some buddies used to build and sell to England and Japan all the time, but those connections have dried up. So does anyone have any connections to brokers or something like that that work overseas?
A broker is a waste of your money. When we have done it the buyer was to arrange all shipping, and wire us the money. Soon as we had solid cash from the western union office in hand, we give the buyer a certain amount of time to have the car picked up, only after hearing stories about selling a car and then having it sit for months or years when the buyer fails or neglects to have it picked up.
Chris, I've sold one car and a motorcycle engine to someone in Europe, and both deals went off just fine. Funds were wired to my bank and the car was picked up by a company the buyer arranged for. The engine I delivered to a broker for shipment. These deals go on every day of the year, no big deal. As long as the seller is ok with the deal I can't see a problem. I personally enjoy selling stuff out of the country,if our stuff impresses you and you want it, that makes for two happy people.
I've sold cars to Europe, South America, Austrailia and Mexico. Wire transfer is the most secure method in my book because most sellers are not going to take any "paper" payment from overseas. Too many bad checks, money orders and other scams. Also, you have to show some serious ID to get a bank account established here in the US these days. So, if someone was going to screw you over they really would not want you to be able to ID them that clearly OR have federal fraud charges by using a bank.
If we get that far and you need a voucher that Im an actual person and not a 'ghost burner' Im sure I can dig up a few people on the HAMB that have met me before in person.Im just not on here enough to know all the user names. A handful of Los Boulevardos know me thru cyber land. J Ward I losely know from my music store days in Berkeley and a few car shows.Ted from Salinas?? Bill Schnieder from Benecia if he still posts up on here.Rob Fortier did the shoot on my Tbird for Custom Rodder,a few of the Swanx Ive met at shows thru Bill Schnieder... so I can be traced. Peace, Robert
You can always ship from Oakland, theres a company there called Alladin Freight that I've shipped cars & bikes with to Europe.
I have bought and sold cars for clients over the last 15 years. Sidney Austrailia, was the last venture. Wire transfers are by far the best, easiest, safest way to transfer money. Be aware of the transfer rates, and dollar values as the American dollar has depreciated dramaticly over the years. I typically use Passport Transport for shipping around the US. as they are insured and bonded, then put them in containers at the ports for overseas shipments (by Boat), it took 31 days from Los Angeles,CA. to Sydney Austrailia.
I have taken credit cards over the phone previously, and not had any problem, ( but friends have told me they have had problems with there clients canceling the credit card purchase up to 45-days after the deal was made). I guess I have been very fortunate that once the card is batch settled on my machine, and funds are positively credited, it has been fine. ( then I have never had any problems). Most I know in the business swear by wire transfers, and our company policy "NOW" is only wire-transfers because there is no room for error, default, or problems.
The international market place is tremendously strong. The Dollar is weak to most other currencies, due to our recession, so beware of the values in US. Dollars. Best wishes with your endevors.
Du kannst mich mal anmailen: [email protected] Ich bin in Oberschleissheim und kann Dir da wahrscheinlich helfen. Gruss, claus
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